Donaldson Capital Management LLC Has $1.39 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 45.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,700 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 9,583 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.95. The stock had a trading volume of 9,425,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,006,588. The firm has a market cap of $181.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).